Cable hoisting and conveying apparatus.



No. 677,036. Patented lune 25, "JUL L. E. LAURENT & E. E. CHERRY.

CABLE HDISTING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Sept. 30, 189B (No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 677,036. Patented June 25, I90l. L. E. LAURENT &. E. E. CHERRY.CABLE HOISTING AND CONVEYING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Sept. 30, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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' UNITED STATES PATENT Caren LOUIS E. LAURENT AND EDWARD E. CHERRY, OFTRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

CABLE HOISTING ANDv CONVEYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,036, dated June 25,1901.

Application filed September 30, 1898. Serial No. 692,308. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS E. LAURENT and EDWARD E. CHERRY, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Trenton, Mercer county, State of NewJersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cable Hoisting andConveying Apparatus, of which the following description, taken inconnection with the drawings herewith accompanying, is a specification.

Our invention relates to cable hoisting and conveying apparatus; and itconsists of certain improvements upon the apparatus forming thesubject-matter of another application filed by us October 1, 1897, andbearing Serial No. 653,698. In the apparatus shown in our said pendingapplication a carriage is sup ported to travel upon a suspendedcarryingcable and is connected with an operating or hauling rope, bywhich it is moved back and forth upon said cable. A fall or hoist ingrope passing over sheaves on said carriage is connected at one end witha fallblock and at its opposite end with an endless rope, termed atransmission-rope, which latter passes between guide-rolls on thecarriage and around an operating-drum. By this construction the unionbetween the hoisting and transmission ropes being at the proper distancefrom one side of the carriage, undue sagging of the hoisting-rope isprevented without the use of supports or carriers, and its free andproper operation over the supporting-sheaves on the carriage is insured.In such construction, however, the hoisting or fall rope and thetransmission-rope are in two separate pieces fastened together, and suchunion between the same being at a point between the load-sustainingfall-block and the engine has a tendency to weaken the rope where it isdesirable to have the greatest strength.

Having the above facts in mind, it has been the object of our presentinvention to so arrange the connections between the load and the engineas to increase the strength of the same between such points withoutinterfering with the general arrangement whereby the free and properoperation of the hoistingrope is insured without the use of carriers orsupports and also to otherwise increase the general effectiveness of theapparatus.

Such object we secure by means of the new and novel features ofconstruction as hereinafter set forth in detail, and pointed out in theclaims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a general view of ourinvention in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thehoisting-carriage and a portion of its connecting-ropes on an enlargedscale. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the construction shown in Fig. 2;and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the hoisting-rope,to be hereinafter referred to in detail. I

To explain in detail, a represents the main carrying-cable, which issuspended between vertical supports or towers b b and anchored at itsopposite ends in the usual manner. The carriage c, which travels uponthis cable a, consists of a-suitable frame 0', in the upper part ofwhich are journaled grooved wheels 0 0 which are adapted to rest and runupon the cabled. J ournaled in the frame below these wheels 0 c are twosheaves c 0 over which the hoisting-rope d is passed. This hoisting-roped according to our present invention is secured at one end to thefall-block e and from thence passes over one of the sheaves 0 downaround the sheave in the fall-block, up over the other sheave 0 thenforward'between two guide-rolls c c on the carriage,to and around asheave f on the tower b, thence back to the opposite tower b and over asheave f thereon,down around a sheave f which is secured to aslack-controlling weight f then up over another sheave (not shown in thedrawings) which is supported on the tower bat one side of the sheave f,and from there down to the operating enginedrum g, around which it ispassed several times to secure the desired friction to be operatedthereby. From this drum the rope passes back over another sheave, (notshown in the drawings,) which is also supported on the tower b at oneside of the sheave f, and from there forward between two guide-rolls c cat one end of the carriage, then between the two first-mentionedguide-rolls c to a point at one side of the carriage, when it isconnected to itself in a manner as will be de scribed.

On the hoisting-rope cl at a point between the carriage and one of thetowers is secured a button h. This button is provided with a centralopening to receive the rope therethrough, which Opening is formed withan enlarged diameter at a point between its ends, as at h, to permit ofaspreaderz' being placed in the rope at such point to lock the buttonfrom endwise movement thereon. The said button h is formed in twosections 71, h having a screw-threaded connection with each other,whereby they may be moved apart to permit of the spreader 'i beinginserted into the rope and then be brought together to re ceive theraised or swelled portion of the rope caused by the inserted spreader ata point between its ends. The button 72 as thus secured upon the, ropeis provided with an encircling yoke 7a, which is seated in a groove inthe button, so as to turn freely around the latter, and, as hereinshown, is provided with two eyes 75' through which the ends of a shortrope .9 pass and are secured, the opposite or loop end of said ropebeing connected with the link m of a swivel m, which latter is fastenedto the end d of the hoisting-rope cl. This form of swivel connectionbetween the end 61 of the hoisting-rope and the fixed button 71, whichmay be more or less materially modified, avoids possibility of kinkingor twisting of the rope and so insures its free and proper operation.

It will be understood that the hoisting rope isliable to stretch moreorless under the strain to which it is subjected in operating thefallblock, with its connected loads, and thus be come unduly slack orloose. tVhen the rope thus becomes unduly slack, it also becomes looseupon the operating-drum and does not properly respond to the action ofthe latter when revolved to operate the rope. To take up any such undueslack, the button it may be readilyshifted in the desired direction uponthe rope after first removing the spreader i, inclosed therein, and thenbe secured in its adjusted position by inserting the spreader in therope at such point. In some instances it maybe desirable to insert aspreader in the rope at a point in front of the button, as at 4?, as anadditional means to prevent slipping of the button, or it will beobvious that such spreader in front of the button might be used alonewithout the one inclosed in the latter. \Vhen employing the spreader 2'we wind the rope with wire, as more clearly shown in Fig. at, so as toprevent said spreader from working out of the rope in its travel aroundthe sheave at the tower b and also to save the rope from wear by contactwith the swivel and connections when passing around the said sheave.

By means of the construction and arrangement of parts as described thehoisting-rope is in one continuous piece from the load to the engine,whereby the greatest strength of the same is secured, and the connectionof one end of the same to itself at a point at one side of the carriagesecures the most effective action of the rope without the employment ofsupports or carriers and also provides for any set in motion.

necessary adjustment to take up slack. As shown in the drawings,however, we have illustrated a weight f in addition to the adjustmentallowed by the shifting of the button h, for controlling the slack inthe hoistingrope d. This weigh t, which connects with the rope in amanner as hereinbefore described, is of sufficient amount to overcomethe resistance exerted by the fall-block and its load upon thehoisting-rope and serves to automatically take up any undue slack andkeep the rope in proper frictional contact with its operating-drum.

The hauling-rope n for moving the carriage 0 back and forth upon thecarrying-cable a connects'at one end with the carriage, and from thereruns over a sheave 0 on the tower b down to a drum p,around which itiswrapped several times to secure frictional contact therewith, then upover a sheave (not shown in the drawings) located at one side of thesheave 0, from there over to and around a sheave 0' on the oppositetower b, and then back to the opposite side of the carriage c, to whichit is secured, thus forming an endless rope which is operativelyconnected with the carriage and with an operating-drum, whereby saidcarriage may be moved back and forth upon the cable a at the will of theoperator.

The operation of the apparatus as above set forth, in brief, is asfollows: When the load (represented at r) is to be raised or lowered,the drum g, around which the hoisting-rope d is wrapped, is set inmotion to move in the required direction and operate said hoistingropein a direction to either raise or lower the load r. After the load hasbeen raised and it is desired to carry the same toward either tower h orI) both of the drums g andp are This causes the rope n to haul or drawthe carriage upon the cable a, and i the hoisting-rope (Z being moved atthe same rate of speed as said hauling-rope it thereby becomesstationary relative to the carriage c, and thus holds the load in araised verticallystationary position while being moved along upon thecarrying-cable by the haulingrope. To lower the load, the haulingrope 'nis stopped or slowed up, while the hoisting-rope is caused to pay out ata greater speed than the hauling-rope, in case the latter should stillbe in motion, and thereby lower the load.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

l. Ina cable hoisting and conveying apparatus, the combination,with acarrying-cable, of a carriage supported to operate on said cable, meansfor moving said carriage back and forth upon the latter, supports ortowers between which the carriage operates, and a single rope passingover hearings on said sup ports with one end thereof operating overbearings on the carriage for connection with a load, and its oppositeend having a-swiveled connection with the rope itself at a point to bemovable therewith between the carriage and one of the towers.

2'. In a cable hoisting and conveying apparatus, the combination,with acarrying-cable, of a carriage supported to operate on said cable, meansfor moving said carriage back and forth upon the latter, supports ortowers between which the carriage operates, and a hoisting-rope passingover bearings on said supports with one end thereof operating overbearings on the carriage for connection with a load, and its oppositeend having an adj ustable connection with the rope itself at a point tobe movable therewith between the carriage and one of the towers.

3. In a cable hoisting and conveyingapparatus, the combination,with acarrying-cable, of a carriage supported to operate on said cable, meansfor moving said carriage back and forth upon the latter, supports ortowers between which the carriage operates, and a hoisting-rope passingover bearings on said supports with one end thereof operating overhearings on the carriage for connection with a load, and its oppositeend having connection with the rope itself at a point to be movabletherewith between the carriage and one of the towers, said rope beingprovided with a button having a yoke loosely supported to turn thereonwith which the said opposite end of the rope is connected.

4. In a cable hoisting and conveying apparatus, the combinationpvith acarrying-cable, of a carriage supported to operate on said cable, meansfor moving said carriage back and forth upon the latter, supports ortowers between which the carriage operates, and a hoisting-rope passingover bearings on said supports with one end thereof operating overbearings on the carriage for connection with a load, and its oppositeend having connection with the rope itself at a point to be movabletherewith between the carriage and one of the towers, said rope beingprovided with a button thereon with which the said opposite end of therope is connected, the said button being formed in two sections andprovided with an opening for the rope having a portion of its diameterenlarged at a point between its ends, and a spreader located in the ropeat a point within the enlarged portion of the opening in the button.

5. In a cable hoisting and conveying apparatus, the combinatiomwith acarrying-cable, of a carriage supported to operate on said cable, meansfor moving said carriage back and forth upon the latter, supports ortowers between which the carriage operates, and a hoisting-rope passingover hearings on said supports with one end thereof operating overbearings on the carriage for connection with a load, and its oppositeend being provided with a swivel connected therewith, said rope beingprovided with a button secured thereon at a point to be movable betweenthe carriage and one of the towers and having a yoke loosely supportedto turn thereon, and means connecting said yoke and the swivel at theend of the rope.

LOUIS E. LAURENT.

EDVV. E. CHERRY.

Witnesses:

E. H. OLEAVER, GEO. DOWNING.

